Cels or Computers?

['Dustin']

Which do you prefer more on artwork or animated productions? A large examples of cel animation would be Disney movies and 'classic' anime. Computer art and animation would be more or less the products we see nowadays.

If my comparison is incorrect, I welcome a decent correction.

[speedstriker]

Cel animation has that certain quality that modern animation lacks. IIRC, the original Macross, Gundam and VOTOM were all cel animation right? The shadows were well defined, the shadings were batter and there's just a more artistic feel to it. Another thing is that with cel animation, each production has a unique style, like Gundam vs VOTOM as far as shading and the amount of detail goes.

Maybe I'm just trying to live in the olden days of animation.

[Akai Suisei]

Both have their instances of being awesome and being utter crap, and in general I'd have to go with computer-animation (the one I voted for). I am a big fan of classic cel animation, absolutely adore the Disney classics for example and some of them are really truly beautiful in a way that computer animation can not (at least not now) be, but more often I've seen badly done cel animation, or just plain lazy animation.

[Kavik Ryx]

Computer animation just hasn't evolved to the point where it feels authentic. Most of it tends to either be covered up by needlessly bright colors (Gundam SEED, Code Geass) or just stick out (Pailsen Files, Macross F). The issue with computer animation is that it usually ends up as a cheap shortcut, much like stock footage. One thing that always annoys me about Family Guy is that when they are driving, the background seems so artificial.

More to the point, personally, good cell animation has a more natural feel. better defined character, compared to CG of equal quality.

[X10A-Freedom]

I think that computor animation alot of the time is just at the ok level of animation and usually stays at like a 6 or 7 out of 10 and and its usually pretty hard to get a 10 with that style. And I think with cell animation you can get 10s easier but you also get alot more 3 or 4 (less than average) ones to. basiclly what im trying to say is with computor animation you get alot of good but few greats and with cell animation you get more of a mix of good bad and great if that makes sense to anyone beside me.

I dont know wich style it was done with if I had to guess I would say cell but my favorite all time animation style of anything animated is Stardust Memory with Cowboy Bebop in second place.

Overall I would say I like cell more the passion of the people making it shows more with cell animation and it fells more real and less fake.

[Areku]

Looking to the future, I'd have to say I favor computer animation. With advances in the processing and techniques, I think there will come a point where computer animation can accomplish anything cel can, be it style or quality, plus some of the more complicated stuff like fluid motion and many small objects moving around that can't be done as well with cel, and do this faster and cheaper. For now, computer animation has it's flaws, but I don't see these as significant enough that I care either way whether a show uses one technique or another, but I can't see computer animation doing anything but surpassing cel at some point in the future.

[GN-003 Kyrios]

Thats true as anime progresses there is going to be more computer animation,but I 'd have to say I prefer cel animation. To me it looks like more effort was put into the show that if it was done by computer animation. I also like alot of old school animes:BGC 2032 is an example.

[raijinz]

As many of us have , I grew up with cell animation. 3D animation has come in leaps and bounds over the years, showing a variety of different styles, from almost photorealistic to cell-shading filter effects. The thing is, for me, even the best 3D stuff will never be able to match the best 2D animation.

As impressive as 3D animation is these days, I don't think it will ever completely replace cell animation anytime soon (and just as well!). Even when animation studios try to seamlessly match 2D with 3D at the same time, I can always see where one ends and the other begins. They are getting better, but they still have a ways to go.

[wraith1701]

I enjoy really well-rendered cell animation to computer, but I know that the cell stuff is not economically feasible anymore. The savings in time and money derived from using computers is too great for most production companies to pass up. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy lots of cg animation. There just seems to be, I don't know, more heart and soul in films like Akira.

Of course, my opinion is probably colored by the fact that I was first introduced to anime in cell form.

[X10A-Freedom]

At the release of his new film Hayao Miyazaki said drawing gives his work a soul and he will continue to use a pen as long as hes able to.

[Battosai28]

I agree with those who say that computers have potential, but I still have to pick cells. With computer shows like Gurren Lagann, they are really just now catching up with the best that cells have to offer. Movies such as CCA, F91, Akira, and countless others have shown us what celled animation can do despite being so old. I think SEED is a good example of computer animation at its worse. Yeah, the explosions were pretty, but the characters to me looked as if they were almost painted onto the background. The bright colors also seem to have made recycled footage much more obvious, possibly even more so than the frequent use of it.

And simply put, a whole lot of computer animation seems tacky to me.

[Kavik Ryx]

As of this point in time, CG is at its best when complimenting a scene rather than being superimposed on it. It's part of the reason that the animation in Macross Plus is so amazing. Even for a 1994 OVA, it melded in perfectly and was used appropriately. I've seen enough video games and Pixar films to know that CG can be brilliant, but to give it the look of hand drawn animation is as of now sort of a pipe dream.